October is a good time to start buying those special items for gift giving, especially if you are going to be mailing them. Visit us soon!
Bunny Bedtime Story by Mary Ellen O’Conner I am passionate about nature, wildlife, metalwork and color. My work as a fine art metalsmith combines all of these, and keeps me creatively engaged on a daily basis. Whether I am making a pair of earrings, a sterling box or a 24k gold and copper wall piece, I see variations of the shapes and designs that I have been exploring for decades. The wall pieces are allowing me to work larger than ever before, and are bringing challenges and rewards in equal measure. I am enjoying applying 24k gold leaf to copper panels to bring a new dimension to the wildlife I use in my designs. The flame patinas add incredible colors in a process that takes me to the knife's edge of disaster or success. That level of challenge at this point of my career is truly a wonderful place to be as an artist.
Drawn to clay, with its earthiness and malleability, Rebecca began her long affair with ceramics at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. She loved the immediacy of the medium, the way it felt in her hands, the surprises imposed by chemistry through the firings and glazes.
Always a maker, an avid world traveler, a baker, and gardener, Rebecca finds excitement and fulfillment through exploration. This led her to pursue her MFA at Cranbrook academy of Art. With a long career as a clay modeler and digital sculptor for the automotive industry, Rebecca sees her current work as its balance. She says, “Creating art that provides a place for contemplation, particularly as the world at large gives cause for anxiety, is of great importance to me. Building community and holding myself responsible for our beautiful planet are values I hope to share within the context of my work”. Woodworker artist Gary Leake will be at Penn Cove Gallery on Saturday, August 13th, from 10am-5pm and Sunday, August 14th from 1-5pm (Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival) with some of his new woodworking creations.
Gary’s passion is to search high and low for special, one-of- a-kind, pieces of timber that have magical character. He then turns each of these into finely engineered, beautiful pieces of furniture that are true works of art. Using methods and styles of earlier times, Gary credits his grandfather for nurturing a keen appreciation for all things wooden. |
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